A (short) Trip down Canada's Film Highway
by Patrick Laba, Marketing & Communications Coordinator
BROTHER
I submit that King Kong scaling the Empire State Building back in 1933 was a Canadian Heritage Moment. Why? Because the screaming woman clutched in Kong’s hand was Fay Wray – born in Cardston, Alberta – one of the earliest actors to be dubbed a “scream queen”. When Arnold Schwarzenegger’s leather-clad, stoic Terminator uttered the iconic “I’ll Be Back” line in 1984 – Canadian Heritage Moment! Writer-director James Cameron is from Kapuskasing, Ontario. Canada has always had an undeniable ability to infiltrate, influence and create stunning, memorable cinema. From 1933 to 1984 to present day, the “Great” in “Great White North” could be attributed to the films that this country produces.
Since its inception in 1980, The Atlantic International Film Festival has been proud to showcase and celebrate Canadian Cinema, and with the Canada Day long weekend upon us, we hope that a moment arises in which you can take in a movie that serves as testament to this country’s cinematic achievements. While the sheer breadth of choices can be overwhelming and as we prepare for AIFF’s 2023 program to be announced, last year’s lineup is sure to have something for everyone.
Whether it be our 2022 Opening Night choice of “Brother”, a drama directed by Clement Virgo about two Black Canadian brothers growing up in Scarborough in the early 90s, or “Queens of the Qing Dynasty”, Ashley McKenzie’s thoughtful meditation on identity, friendship, and the uncertainties of the future – there is little doubt that these homegrown narrative features will leave a lasting impact long after their credits roll. AIFF 2022’s Closing Gala saw a screening of Sarah Polley’s Oscar-nominated “Women Talking” – a captivating adaptation of the Canadian novel of the same name. Scheduled smack-dab in the middle of last year’s closing night lineup was Chandler Levack’s feature length debut film, “I Like Movies”. An endearing comedy and love letter to being a cinephile in the early-2000s and ripe with millennial nostalgia and heart, this gem has recently been included on The Globe and Mail’s list of the 23 best Canadian comedy films ever made.
I LIKE MOVIES
A measly paragraph truly is not enough to highlight all the incredible movies to come out of Canada over the years, let alone the selections from AIFF’s 2022 program (I didn’t even mention the abundance of Atlantic short films! Bite-sized in length but boundless in passion, emotion, vision, and execution). If anything, the choices laid out in this text are to be used as a (totally unworthy) roadmap of recent high points of our nation’s cinematic highway – a highway paved with cinema as diverse as the country upon which it stretches. Indigenous stories, French-language features, Maritime narratives; stories of love, loss, horror, and humour. There is a great comfort and sense of pride in knowing that no matter where I am, what I’ve heard or what I’ve watched, I will always look to Canadian Cinema and say with the confidence of the Terminator: “I’ll Be Back.”